Of Fire and Flames
by uchihaotakuhime
Summary: SasuHinaShika. Ish. [One-shot] A prologue to a story I'll never write. In which a bitter Sasuke, Hinata, and Shikamaru travel the shinobi world looking for answers to fix the destruction and downfall that had led to Naruto's death. Why these characters you ask? Because I like them.
When Sasuke promised his best friend he'd take care of everything he had ever loved, he honestly didn't know what the fuck he was thinking. Everything Naruto ever loved, he never cared for.

Kaguya had slashed through the dreams of shinobi and civilians alike, killing them where they slept in unsuspecting slumber. His rinnegan and sharingan mix had been crucial to Kaguya's downfall, but it took all of Naruto to stop her.

And now he was gone.

There was death, so much death. All the current kage. Dead. Thousands from the shinobi alliance. Dead. Only by random luck were people left alive, and many more who were fortunate enough to survive the initial massacre were merely killed by the collapse of buildings, forests, and mountains alike. Villages were left in shambles, having to re-elect and rebuild.

Konoha was no exception.

The root of all problems, he believed, was that every single shinobi, since the beginning of time, had been fucked by the entire system. His brother. His clan. Madara. All fucked. And it all led to this moment, when everything was as fucked as it had ever been. Naruto was dead and he was stuck. He would search the whole shinobi world for answers so that it would never happen again. He would find a place where no shinobi would suffer at the hands of their government - as a result of their government's fuck ups - ever again. And if there wasn't one, he would make one himself. It was, in a way, keeping his promise to Naruto. Indirectly. _I'm taking care of them by making sure what happened to you doesn't happen to them_ , he said to the little nagging Naruto voice in his brain. That was fair, wasn't it?

"They're all asking you to be hokage, as unbelievable as it is," his gray-haired sensei had told him when he was recovering in the hospital bed. Considered the hero (albeit reluctantly) along with the fallen Naruto, Sasuke was given an opportunity to come back and lead as Hokage.

He refused. "There is no place for me here," he had replied with a flat voice.

Kakashi had lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "They think you're the only one who would provide unparalleled protection." He gave his former student what looked like a tight smile. "No sharingan anymore, you know," he continued, pointing at his eye.

Sasuke had snorted, "I doubt anyone dares try shit again." He looked at the masked man. "You are a better fit." His eyes ran over the hokage robes that flowed down Kakashi's tall form, grimacing in disdain at the thought of it on his own body and providing protection for a village that had only torn his life apart and those he loved away from him. "I can't allow this to be repeated."

And those who were left had seen him off at the gates of Konoha - against Sasuke's wishes. They were not as concerned for his well-being as they were their own. Was there more danger out there? What would be their fate if they didn't even have someone like Naruto or Sasuke to protect them anymore? Yet there they were, like flies attracted to a dead carcass. It was pointless to refuse their presence.

"I don't want you, Sakura," he said when the pink-haired girl tried to speak up. "People need you here."

"People need _you_ here, Sasuke-kun," Sakura had whispered meekly, cringing in rejection.

"There is no one for me here in Konoha anymore," Sasuke had replied, almost coldly, as sky-blue eyes and sunny blond hair flashed through his mind. His fists clenched, remembering the fact that he would never see them again.

He was more than surprised when two people offered to come with him. Or more like forced him to accept them to come with him.

"I'm going with you," Shikamaru said with a hardness to his voice. "I was to be Naruto's advisor. There is much to learn about the shinobi system. I share your sentiment. I want answers. What this village did, what ideologies it held - it obviously did not work. Those who come after me should not be subject to this demise." The memories Sasuke had of this man were slim to none, only that he was a fellow genius. Everything about him had been (and still was) dark and sharp - from his shadows to the sarcasm dripping from his deep voice and the downward slope to his eyebrows in the glare that had been thrown in Sasuke's direction since they were children.

"I don't need advice," he had responded coolly.

The Nara just shrugged him off and stood his ground next to him, to the surprise of those surrounding him.

Shikamaru caught sight of the new kazekage in the midst of the crowd.

"Stay, Shikamaru," her teal eyes begged, bright with uncharacteristic tears against a head of thick, shiny dark blonde hair. She looked tiny, for once, with her almost menacing fan flush against her back.

Shikamaru turned away.

Another person pushed their way to the crowd. A head of dark purple appeared in front of them, white eyes strong-willed in their gaze. "I will go," she had stated in a voice that somehow melded soft and steel. "There has been nothing but pain and suffering in this village, because of this village. Not just for me, but for those I loved. And for you." His equally blank eyes met her white ones across the gate. The one that was in love with Naruto, he remembered, free from the stutter, blush, and timidity she had held. Her stare fell to the ground for a quick moment before she struggled to lift them towards Sasuke's face, hands clenching into tight fists. "It ends now. What is left of the Hyuuga clan will be free from the hatred that the protection and pride this clan and village has smothered us with. The last of the main house leaves with me," she almost spat her last words. "I will not let the deaths of Naruto and Neji-nii-san be for nothing."

She walked towards him, her back straight, chin held high.

"You're bringing this child?" He eyed the toddler strapped to her back. Red, sharingan-less eyes stared back.

"Her mother is gone," she said simply. "As she cared for me, I will care for her child."

"Along with me," Shikamaru finished with the same edge to his voice. They gave each other a quick glance in acknowledgement as Hinata took her place beside Sasuke.

"And what of the fate of the village?" Kakashi asked, stepping forward before Sasuke turned away from the gates of Konoha for the last time.

"It will be in your hands," Sasuke said in a deathly calm voice. Both Shikamaru and Hinata avoided the Hokage's gaze as they turned to follow the last Uchiha.

Kakashi stayed at the gates of his village, watching the backs of the three shinobi grow smaller and smaller in the distance, casting long shadows in the Konoha sunset. He couldn't help but notice the red, orange, and yellow rays of light engulfing the broken village and the heads on the Hokage mountain like burning flames.

And so they walked, not knowing if this was the last time they would see the place where they had once called home, silently hoping that the Will of Fire they had previously held so closely in their hearts wasn't one that led to hell.


End file.
